We are The Boobers.


And we are going Amish.

Okay, well as much as a tattooed, pierced, plaid wearing, crazy haired, free spirit family can get.

For a while now, Zachary and I have had conversations about moving towards a simpler life. We've done some small things like use our clothes line more often in the winter and baking more bread instead of buying it. Those things have really added up, but we could be doing so much more! We always pick with each other about becoming Amish. Actually, it's more serious than picking. We would thrive off of an Amish lifestyle. The Amish live such simple lives. They depend on each other, not the grid or the government. They don't have distractions, no television or cell phones. They live to serve, not live for themselves. Their faith is the center of their lives and community, not just thrown in there where ever it fits. They are such amazing people who live great, simple lives. Zak and I strive to have that type life.

Last week we were visiting our local library and I came across a book I absolutely had to read. Almost Amish.

I started reading it that day and it has been hard putting it down. From the very first word I knew I was meant to pick up that book. It's about a family who was too plugged in to everything and they made a journey to get back to the basics.

That's what we are doing. We are getting back to the basics; Faith, Family, and Friends. Just like the Amish.

Zachary and I were founded together on our relationships with God. Wow, we were both so strong in The Lord a few years ago, but we let that slip away. We let each other, jobs, a house, dogs, the baby, and just life get in the way, we got off track. Thank God for grace. We've remained Christians and still seek after God, but it's nothing compared to how we used to be. For a while now we have been barely hanging on. We haven't been running towards Him, we've been walking backwards...with our eyes closed and our feet tied together. We are barely hanging on. This has to change. This will change.

We have to get back to family. There have been some nights where Zak and I will sit on the couch together for hours and not say a word. How embarrassing?? Someone please tell me we aren't the only ones. We would be so consumed in our phones, Ipads, and television. Yes, all at the same time. Five different devices stood between my husband and I. Again, someone please tell me we aren't the only ones. Our relationship has gone through some serious low points because we haven't been connected to each other. I noticed last week that while Zaylen was in his room playing, I was on my phone the entire time. I missed those precious moments playing with him and talking with him. I missed seeing his smiles and his falls. I missed the little looks. I will never get that day back. That was the day Zak and I decided on our Amish project. We have missed so much with each other because we were so plugged in to other things. This has to change. This will change.

Zak and I don't have many friends. High school friends are far away, college friends have moved on, and we haven't had any interest in making any new ones. We don't put ourselves out there at church to make friends. We don't do anything in our community or with our neighbors (If you know where we live, you know why.) We don't make any type of effort to be social. We love the excuses about Zak working too much and me being tired after a long day with the baby, and those are completely valid reasons to miss a few things, but they don't give us an excuse to miss out on everything. We are comfortable. This has to change. This will change.

What type of life do we want to live? What is important to us? How do we want our son brought up?

These questions were raised during that long talk Zak and I had last week. After reading more of my book, we sat down and talked for the whole night. We discussed these questions and so much more. We weren't living the life we intended. We allowed things to replace people and relationships. We sorted through it all and figured out the route we needed to take. We call this lifestyle project...you guessed it...

The Boobers Go Amish.

Don't worry, we aren't getting rid of the cars, yet.

We are slowing down and ridding ourselves of everything that distracts us from God, each other, and other people. Technology, material possessions, money, there are so many things that cause distractions.

We had already canceled our cable service a few weeks earlier (thanks to a Monsanto commercial) so that wasn't a hard thing letting go of since it was already gone. We were in the process of getting wifi hooked up at our house so we could stream tv and movies, but I called and canceled that the morning after our talk. We don't need to add anything else while we are on a path to simplifying. Our cell phones and computers have been used less, but we still have to work harder on those and set limits.

The back of my truck is filled with things that are being donated. I have cleaned out my closet twice, I've gone through Zaylen's toys, and my next undertaking will be the garage. Wish me luck. I'm going crazy getting rid of things. It's all I want to do every day. We don't need this stuff. It's just stuff. We are cleaning out and simplifying our home.

We are decluttering our home and our lives so that we can fill them with good things. Things that have meaning and purpose. We want more time with our son, more time with each other and with friends, and more time with God. We can't have those with electronics in our hands, trash in our house, and cloudiness in our minds. It all has to go.

We are getting back to the basics; Faith, Family, and Friends. Just like the Amish.

I will be writing more about our journey to a simpler life. There is so much we are working on and working towards, I just wanted to introduce this to you now so that you can follow along this lifestyle project with us every step of the way.

If you would like to join us, I highly encourage that! You can start simplifying your life right now. Just think about what is holding you down and what is clouding your mind. Take small steps and follow along with us. And please let me know about anything you've done or discovered while on your journey to get back to the basics.

If you haven't already, please enter your email address at the top right hand side of my blog page. This will send you email updates every time I publish a new post. Stay tuned!


Cursty